With the general elections only a few weeks away now, the Indian political front is at its busiest. The last few months have seen incessant campaigning from the contesting political parties. Propaganda has found its way into social media, entertainment, news and into the voting citizen’s daily life. Though this is quite common, leading up to the general elections, one could say that with the increasing accessibility to social media, campaigning has been kicked up a notch this year. It wasn’t always like this – in fact, ever wondered how political parties campaigned before the era of social media and the world wide web?
We’ve dug out a brilliant video: a five-minute montage of political parties campaigning and citizens voting in the first general elections of India, in 1952. A poster for congress is seen held up by people who shout slogans through the streets. In what is truly unique campaigning, we see public rallies being carried out by party members on cycles. Jawaharlal Nehru – who would, in fact, go on to become the prime minister – addresses the public from a stage. The video goes on to show a historical event of the country: Indian citizens voting for the first time. Lines and lines of people waiting to get their ballot sheets and place their vote – a sight that is sure to strike a chord within us. The first general elections came at the end of decades of fighting – fighting for a free country, for a democracy. Thousands of lives had been martyred for this very purpose: so that a free India could choose her own leader and prosper. The General Elections of 1952 was India’s license to democracy, captured beautifully in this short video. Watch it here!
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